Tricks of the Trade, Laundry

Practical tips on staying sane amid the chaos of life with kids at home, homeschooling and trying to stay on top of it all (trying being the operative word here).

Let's Talk Laundry!
Seems to be one of the biggest dreaded tasks I hear of, and yet it is one of the household chores I actually enjoy the most! Although I will admit, I get nervous and overwhelmed by it when I don't stay on top of it. It's one of those things that is never really done, therefore one of those things that I find it best to stay on top of.

So, here are some laundry tips I have gleaned from others, or come up with myself. Hopefully others will pitch in with more great tips (I know some women who have amazing organization tactics in the laundry room, I haven't gotten that far, and don't have the space yet, but their ideas inspire me to dream up reno projects for my dh!)

Rounding Up the Beast
-invest in a laundry divider and store in a central location near bedrooms (3 dividers are better than 2!)

-gather up laundry first thing in the morning while making beds and sort into laundry divider (I sort whites/kids clothes/and grown up clothes/delicates have their own little mesh bag and I deal with them on days when there is no other laundry to do).

-pick fullest divider and transfer to hamper to be carried to laundry room at first opportunity. Our bedrooms are upstairs so we get dressed, make our beds, I put away yesterdays laundry that I brought up the evening before, and then refill the hamper with the fullest divider and bring it downstairs to the laundry room when we come down for breakfast.

Penning the Beast
-start load first thing in the morning. I do this right after breakfast clean-up while we are washing up (our washer/dryer is in our main floor bathroom.

-Transfer laundry to dryer (or hange it on the line weather permitting) at the same time every day. In the winter I transfer laundry to the dryer while I have a spare minute in my lunch prep, since the bathroom is right behind the kitchen. In summer I do it right after lunch and then take an opportunity to lounge in the hammock next to the clothes line for 20 min's or so ;-) The important thing is doing it consistently at the same time so you won't forget and leave wet laundry sitting there all day (or longer!).

-Same thing for folding... pick a strategic time and do this consistently. I fold laundry on the dining room table while supper is simmering, and dh and I have our "couple catch-up" when he gets home from work. I can stir, listen, chat and fold at the same time and kill a lot of birds with one stone.

-Don't lose your laundry! Carry the basket to it's put away location first chance you have (I leave mine at the bottom of the stairs till my next trip up and then drop it off on the trunk in my bedroom to be put away in the next mornings bedroom clean up.

-Put laundry away at the same time every day- don't let loads and loads of clean laundry pile up!

Just a side note. You will notice I mention nothing about ironing here... that's because I don't "do" ironing :D I don't buy clothes that need ironing if I can help it. I have a great wrinkle spray I buy from Melaleuca that I will use the odd time on dh's shirts or the girls cotton dresses... but for the most part I shake and hang, or fold and press (with my hands!) and nobody is the worse for it.

Those are the basics, then there are handy little tricks like;

-putting dirty socks in mesh bags rather than mixing them in loose with the other dirty laundry

-strip and wash sheets when you don't have a full load of anything else (I wash sheets once every two weeks and never have to do an "extra" day's load to get them done.

-When you are washing whites go around and collect all your white towels/dish towels etc on your way to the laundry room.

Taming the Beast;
-limit the sets of clothes your child has for any given season. I limit to 7 changes of every item excepting socks/underwear. 7 house pants, 7 dress pants, 7 t shirts, 7 dress shirts, etc. They don't always have 7 of everything, but that is my max.

- make a habit of folding your kids clothes in sets. This way they pick a *set* and don't rummage through piles of clothes and make a mess of them all the time. Until 5 or 6 years old I usually just lay their set on the foot of their bed in the morning and then they don't even need to go in their dresser at all.

-make a habit of changing the towels in the bathroom when YOU deem, not every single time a towel is used. We actaully use our terry cloth robes as towels after baths, which cuts down greatly on the towel laundry! My kids are not allowed to throw towels or dish cloths in the laundry, because they would use it once and toss it.

-I have my kids lay their clothes (besides socks and underwear of course) on the end of the bed when they change into their pyjamas. Then *I* deem wether they are dirty or can be re-used when I come to tuck them in. The older kids usually wear the same house clothes 2 days in a row while the younger ones need a new change every day for house clothes, dress clothes should usually last at least 2 wears, or more for the girls (I have them change the moment we step in the door from being out!).

Well, that's what I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure there are many more great tips out there, have any you want to share??!!